Ochikubo monogatari

Ochikubo monogatari, Japanese novel of the late 10th century, one of the world’s earliest extant novels. Its unknown author is thought to have been a man, one of the Heian court’s literate elite, writing for an audience of female readers. It was translated into English as Ochikubo monogatari; or, The Tale of the Lady Ochikubo.

Ochikubo monogatari is similar to the Cinderella story of European folklore. Lady Ochikubo, the heroine, is treated harshly by her wicked stepmother, who favours her own daughters. Ochikubo’s lover helps her escape from the stepmother’s house and then subjects her stepfamily to satisfyingly appropriate vengeance until the merciful Ochikubo insists that he stop. The pair marry and live in happy monogamy, a condition that is rare in Heian court literature. The work’s suspenseful narrative is also unusual for its time in that it is a realistic depiction of 10th-century aristocratic life and is devoid of supernatural elements.